Bird Rides Inc. filed a petition earlier this week in Florida state court docket, asking the tribunal to pressure the City of Tampa to restart its e-scooter contractor procurement course of as a result of the final one was unfair. The submitting accuses Tampa of depriving Bird of procedural due course of, failing to watch important necessities of regulation, and making a call unsupported by proof.
Bird, an electrical scooter sharing firm, stated that it has been working in Tampa since 2019. Earlier this yr, looking for to proceed its operations within the metropolis, it submitted a bid in response to Tampa’s request for proposal (RFP). Initially, Bird was shortlisted alongside Spin, Lime, and Helbiz. However, it misplaced out to Helbiz and Spin who received contracts with the town.
Importantly, Bird says, Tampa didn’t notify Bird and Lime that they’d misplaced, and Bird says it solely acquired a replica of the award notification from another person, on the day that bid protests had been due. Bird claims that when it defined to Tampa the shortage-of-discover subject and requested a 5-day extension to file its bid protest, the town denied the request and moreover didn’t well timed provide Bird with the general public data it sought to problem the choice.
Bird appealed. A metropolis-appointed officer reportedly heard the dispute and determined the enchantment in Tampa’s favor. Yet, the submitting claims the officer went a step additional and dominated that Bird “waived any arguments not raised in the bid protest, even those arguments that Bird could not have raised at the time.”
The e-scooter petitioner argues that the officer’s resolution “flies in the face of basic principles of due process and is directly contrary to Florida law.” Bird additionally remarks that the report earlier than the listening to officer clearly militated a reversal of Tampa’s resolution on the bid protest.
“While Bird has raised a number of reasons why the RFP process failed, any one of these would be enough to render the RFP process arbitrary and capricious,” the submitting says. For aid, Bird asks the court docket to quash the listening to officer’s denial and to compel Tampa to recompete the procurement.
Bird is represented by Akerman LLP.